Australian Computer Scientist Who Claimed to Be Bitcoin's Creator Is Found in Contempt of Court

Dr. Craig Wright's claims and subsequent lawsuits have been controversial within the cryptocurrency world, where Bitcoin's decentralized ethos directly opposes the monopolistic control he has sought.

An Australian computer scientist who has repeatedly claimed to be Bitcoin's creator has been found in contempt of London's High Court on Thursday.

Why It Matters

Dr. Craig Wright's claims and subsequent lawsuits have been controversial within the cryptocurrency world, where Bitcoin's decentralized ethos directly opposes the monopolistic control he has sought.

The court's decision represents a major victory for the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), a consortium of technology and cryptocurrency firms advocating for open-source software development. By challenging Wright's lawsuits, COPA aimed to prevent the disruption of Bitcoin's development and to protect the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem from Wright's litigation threats, which included claims totaling more than £900 billion ($1.1 trillion).

What To Know

Justice James Mellor sentenced Wright to a suspended 12-month prison term for violating a court order barring him from pursuing legal claims related to Bitcoin's intellectual property.

Wright, who attended the hearing via video link from Asia, plans to appeal.

The Australian-born and English-resident computer scientist first claimed to be "Satoshi Nakamoto," the pseudonym that masked the identity of the creator of Bitcoin, in 2016. He asserts authorship of the 2008 white paper, a foundational document for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

He presented fake documents to support his assertions, according to findings from London's High Court earlier this year. His deceit consisted largely of forgeries "on a grand scale" and "technobabble." Because of this, Justice Mellor ruled in March 2024 that Wright did not create Bitcoin and had fabricated evidence to support his claim.

Wright went on to commit "a clear breach" of the court order from March prohibiting further legal actions tied to his supposed intellectual property rights over Bitcoin.

His actions led to the contempt proceedings brought by COPA, which argued that his continued lawsuits aimed to "terrorize" developers and maintain a false narrative about Bitcoin's origins. The court struck out Wright's massive claims and ordered him to pay £145,000 in legal costs within two weeks.

What People Are Saying

Justice James Mellor told the court: "In both his written evidence and in days of oral evidence under cross-examination, I am entirely satisfied that Dr. Wright lied to the court extensively and repeatedly,"

"Most of his lies related to the documents he had forged, which purported to support his claim. All his lies and forged documents were in support of his biggest lie: his claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto."

Jonathan Hough KC, counsel for COPA, told the court: Wright's legal threats had "terrorized" people, putting "developers and bloggers through...years of personal hell" and that the new claims were intended to "cause maximum possible distress."

What Happens Next

Wright's suspended sentence allows him to avoid prison if he refrains from initiating further lawsuits. However, he has announced plans to appeal the contempt finding. Legal experts suggest the appeal is unlikely to succeed, given the strength of the evidence against him.

The ruling is expected to impact three pending lawsuits Wright has filed based on his claims to Bitcoin's intellectual property rights. It remains to be seen whether Wright will persist in his efforts to claim ownership over the cryptocurrency's intellectual foundation, but the court's decision has significantly weakened his legal position.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.